Congratulations to Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank!

Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank were today awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts to create economic and social benefit from below":"Muhammad Yunus has shown himself to be a leader who has managed to translate visions into practical action for the benefit of millions of people, not only in Bangladesh, but also in many other countries.

Loans to poor people without any financial security had appeared to be an impossible idea. From modest beginnings three decades ago, Yunus has, first and foremost through Grameen Bank, developed micro-credit into an ever more important instrument in the struggle against poverty.

Every single individual on earth has both the potential and the right to live a decent life. Across cultures and civilizations, Yunus and Grameen Bank have shown that even the poorest of the poor can work to bring about their own development.

Yunus's long-term vision is to eliminate poverty in the world. That vision cannot be realized by means of micro-credit alone. But Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank have shown that, in the continuing efforts to achieve it, micro-credit must play a major part.'' Source Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank have been a personal inspiration to all of the staff at Kiva.org, and some of us were even lucky enough to meet him at a conference, "Microfinance and Beyond", in April of this year.

Left to Right: Fiona Ramsey, Matt Flannery, Muhammad Yunus and Premal Shah

Kiva.org is thrilled that Muhammad's work has been recognized by one of the most prestigious awards in the world, and we thank all of our lenders for helping us contribute to Muhammad's dream of putting poverty in a museum. Click here to read a great interview with Muhammad.